No. They are playing for draft position now. Dumping Clausen is the first step. They need to find out if the guys on this roster can play. If they can, they’ll get a chance next year. If not, what are we waiting for?

No, the McCaskey’s own this. Owners always own. Management and the players have no responsibility in this mess what so ever. Until the McCaskey’s realize that owners always own the Bears will never be fixed.

I may be in a minority here, but I think a lot has been done about them. Take out the 2 Jimmy Clausen starts, and while losing, they are playing hard. That’s something you didn’t see last year. Certainly there are issues, but unlike the past few years, the arrow is pointing up-ish.

Also….they’re clearly much better than last year. Those that complain about the ownership must’ve missed the complete overhaul of coaching and GM this year. The foundation and game planning is there, now we just need to get the talent to execute it.

The relevant question is whether the new GM and the new coach were good hires. It’s too early to say on the GM but I think the coach has done a very good job with the little talent he has to work with.

Why so glum? This has been a good season for the Bears: they’re showing signs of improvement but will still have a great draft pick (and effectively have 2 first rounders next year). A complete tank wouldn’t have been good - it’s hard to dig out of such holes - but they weren’t going anywhere this year in the playoffs even if by miracle they had snuck in.

And though I’m not sold on Cutler, I don’t think this is a great QB class coming out in the draft and with Cutler’s improved play they won’t have to eat his salary.

Yes and they are in a process. Outside of the second and third game they were competitive, in fact they were more than competitive because they should have beat the Lions, Vikings & Broncos. They are a team that hasn’t drafted well from top to bottom in more than a decade. They have good coaches and appear to have a good GM who hired a good coach and appears to making good draft decisions so far.

It’s going to be ok, they are rebuilding and learning how to win. They have also been without their three best receivers for most games.

I’m very optimistic about the future. It’s just going to take a little time to fix the Angelo/Emery mess.

Agree with 47 - let’s see what we’ve got. Not as sanguine as others about Langford replacing Forte. He’s wasn’t the best at any one thing but is really, really good at everything (running, receiving, blocking). Cutler is sticking around. And while I would have preferred a 2-14 season for draft pick purposes, these guys can be fun to watch at times.

I feel bad for Matt Forte. He’s in a contract year and he’s been a terrific player for the Bears his entire career. Unfortunately, he’s also turning 30 years old, the age at which running backs decline quite rapidly. I don’t think the Bears will re-sign him, unless it’s at a bargain price. Langford is no Forte, but running backs are more interchangeable than ever in the NFL.

As for Alshon Jeffrey, I don’t think the Bears should franchise tag him or pay him big bucks. He’s talented by breakable. Let him test the market and see if any other team wants to overpay him.

The draft needs to start at the lines, both sides. Other than Kyle Long, all of the positions on the offensive line are up for grabs. Same on defense. Fangio wants to play a 3-4 but the roster is loaded with leftovers from a Cover 2 defense. The Bears have been searching for a strong safety since Mike Brown retired, and need a lot more speed on defense than they have at the moment.

I’d add that they might as well keep Cutler too, since they aren’t likely to find anyone better, either in the draft or on the market. They might consider drafting a QB, but nobody should expect to see the new guy play for a couple of years at the earliest.

I agree that Fox has them playing hard, and that’s a big improvement. It’s possible to turn things around quickly in the NFL, so never say never, but I think the overhaul continues well into next year too. Hard to see the Bears catching Green Bay or even Minnesota next year.

taken a look at the NFC standing today? The Bears are on the edge of the playoffs. There are only five teams over .500! Do we want them to finish that high, or go for top draft choices?
I agree that their head coach and assistant coaches are much better than usual.
But Jay stays — too expensive for a family owned team to dump.

I’ve actually been really upset with them this year for even trying to win. Seven wins and the 14th draft pick isn’t going to do us any favors, and that winning four out of six thing has to end. Let’s be realists, they aren’t going to playoffs and we don’t need moral victories - we need players, and a 4, 5 or 6 pick would’ve looks really good. Now we’ll pick in the middle of the pack like big ol’ j’mokes. That’s not how you get better.

And…I fully agree with those who’ve said they’ve played better and that Fox, Fangio and Gase have gotten the most out of what they have. That actually may be a problem too. Fangio and Gase have both interviewed for HC jobs, and sharp improvement by either unit is likely to end up with one or both of them headed out of town to captain their own ship. I really hope Gase has some sort of “next head coach” clause in his contract with the Bears.

Since folks may not be aware of this, the typical professional athlete pays their income tax based off of their duty days. As a result, every NFL, NHL, NBA player that plays in a stadium based in Illinois is an Illinois taxpayer.

So, any positive effect that raising taxes would have on the Bears athletic performance would have the same impact on all of the other teams playing in Chicago.

Professional athletes pay taxes in every state they play in. Same goes for most musicians on tour and their roadies.

Ditka needs to put on a Packers Jersey, that seems to bring good luck.

Games were sold out almost as soon as they went on sale. They don’t seem to be suffering attendance despite the cold, the rain, whatever the weather.
The Sox need help getting people to the cold games (April & May)